MacArthur’s Park is melting in the darkAll the sweet, green icing flowing downSomeone left the cake out in the rainI don’t think that I can take it’cause it took so long to bake itAnd I’ll never have that recipe againOh, nooooo

[UPDATE: Senator Leland Yee is on the case this AM – he’s doing a presser involving this latest allegation. (I guess it’s too late to call this an October Surprise, and frankly, it’s not all that surprising neither. Let’s call it a November Expectation. Brace yourself for more.) Oh, and Leland is onto some Chinatown voting sting operation as well.

And there’s this: “Statement from Chiu Campaign on Money Laundering Allegations – SAN FRANCISCO (November 2, 2011): Addisu Demissie, spokesman for the David Chiu for Mayor campaign, released the following statement about a San Francisco Chronicle report of potential money laundering by supporters of Mayor Ed Lee:

“This is now the fourth allegation of illegal conduct by Mayor Lee’s supporters, and it should be investigated fully by the District Attorney and appropriate authorities,” Demissie said. “With six days to go before Election Day, it will be up to the voters to decide whether this kind of bullying, pay-to-play politics is what they want to see at City Hall for the next 4 years. David is going to spend the last 6 days of this race talking about why he represents a new generation of leadership for San Francisco that will stand tough against the special interests and shake things up at City Hall.“

Paid for by David Chiu for Mayor 2011, P.O. Box 641541, San Francisco, CA 94164, FPPC##1337108]

SAN FRANCISCO (Nov. 2, 2011) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera this morning called on the state Fair Political Practices Commission to join District Attorney George Gascón in reviewing new allegations reported in today’s San Francisco Chronicle that Ed Lee’s mayoral campaign received donations that appear to have been illegally laundered to skirt San Francisco $500 per donor contribution maximum.[1] Andrew Hawkins, a property services manager whose harrowing tenant intimidation tactics were central to Herrera’s lawsuit five years ago against the Lembi Group landlords’ once high-rolling CitiApartments empire, promised reimbursements to at least sixteen employees in exchange for maximum contributions to Ed Lee’s mayoral campaign at an Oct. 18, 2011 fundraiser, according to the Chronicle.

It is the second major allegation of campaign money laundering to benefit Ed Lee’s campaign. The first, involving GO Lorrie’s airport shuttle, is the subject of separate investigations by Gascón’s office and the FPPC, the state commission responsible to investigate and impose penalties for violations of the California Political Reform Act. Such schemes have been prosecuted as felonies in California for conspiring to evade campaign contribution limits, and for making campaign contributions under false names.

“I think San Franciscans have now seen enough,” said City Attorney Dennis Herrera. “Too many of Ed Lee’s supporters act as though they’re above the law — on money laundering, on ballot tampering, and more — and Ed Lee isn’t strong enough to stop it. If this is how they behave before an election, just imagine how they’ll behave after the election, if Ed Lee wins. This scheme is clearly a bid for political payback by CitiApartments henchmen for my litigation to protect tenants five years ago. It is patently illegal, and I call on the FPPC to join the District Attorney in investigating.”

Hawkins is listed in Ed Lee’s campaign disclosures as the owner of Archway Property Services. As the one-time head of CitiApartments’ “tenant relocation program,” the gun-carrying Hawkins is reported to have coerced more than 2,500 tenants out of their rent-controlled units, and once boasted in civil court testimony, “I run people out of their apartments for a living. It’s what I do.“

Several recipients of Hawkins’ email invitation to an Oct. 18 event on Russian Hill made contributions to Ed Lee’s campaign on the same date. All contributed the maximum $500.

Herrera sued the CitiApartments residential rental property behemoth in Aug. 2006 for an array of unlawful business and tenant harassment practices, which sought to dispossess long-term residents of their rent-controlled apartments. The coerced vacancies freed the company to make often-unpermitted renovations to units, and then re-rent them to new tenants at dramatically increased market rates. The illegal business model enabled CitiApartments, Skyline Realty and other entities under the sway of real estate family patriarch Frank Lembi to aggressively outbid competitors for residential properties throughout San Francisco for several years — before lawsuits and a sharp economic downturn forced the aspiring empire into bankruptcies, foreclosures and receiverships.

A 2009 San Francisco Magazine feature story on the Lembi real estate empire[2] described Andrew Hawkins as “a burly former nightclub bouncer who headed up CitiApartments’ relocation program.” Hawkins reportedly led teams as large as 14 full-time employees, according to the report, and the company estimated that “Hawkins relocated more than 2,500 tenants.” An earlier exposé in 2006 by the San Francisco Bay Guardian[3] cited civil court testimony in which Hawkins boasted to one tenant’s family member, “I run people out of their apartments for a living. It’s what I do.”

“Soon to be offering BEER! You heard it here first. Always interesting programming of flicks not found in the ubiquitous multiplex. Even if I’ve never visited without wishing I could power wash the interior, who wouldn’t love a good movie and a BEER?”

The NIMBYs put the kibosh on that effort.

Here’s an update this AM, straight from the Roxie Theatre itself:

“Cold Beer At The Roxie Theater!

At a spry 102-years young, the Roxie Theatre has applied for a permanent beer license. Over the past year, the Roxie has used its non-profit status to obtain day use permits for on-site alcohol, and the response was so overwhelmingly positive that we’re trying to make it permanent. Our application is in!

The Roxie hopes to add beer sales as part of its mission statement to make the theater a place of gathering and celebration, as well as a business model for the survival of neighborhood theatres. In 2008, the Roxie became a non-profit. With the litany of struggles independent theaters have faced recently (illustrated by the closing of the Red Vic), beer sales will help increase our revenue by offering a more complete night out, as well as drawing new folks into our one-of-a-kind mixture of programs unparalleled in the Bay Area.

Have no fear- The Roxie is dedicated to its mission of reaching the widest and most diverse audiences and our programming will continue to reflect this cause. You will still find a smattering of family friendly events throughout our calendar, and all of our programs will clearly indicate when it’s for only those 21 and over. It has not yet been decided if beer will be offered every day, just weekends or just special events. We care the most about building a community, so we invite you to join us at this exciting new chapter so that we can develop this model together.”

We, the undersigned California CEOs and business leaders, are dedicated to the successful implementation of the state’s landmark law, AB 32. Like you, we believe AB 32 is benefiting our economy and environment and is crucial to attracting additional clean technology investment to the state.

While Californians overwhelmingly rejected Proposition 23 last year and its attempt to indefinitely delay implementation of AB 32, key provisions of the law are now facing additional challenges that also threaten to delay implementation even further. While the cap and trade program is one of many AB 32 rules, we believe it is critical to the success of the overall program.

First, we reject the calls from some environmental organizations for a wholesale revision of the AB 32 cap and trade system. We take particular issue with these organizations calling for such revisions in the name of jobs and the economy. As business leaders who are responsible for creating the jobs that have become such a popular talking point, we can tell you that nothing will do more harm to the emerging California clean economy sector than continued regulatory uncertainty. By far, the biggest impediment to creating real jobs is delay. The implementation of AB 32 has proven to be a bright spot during this recession. It has attracted clean technology manufacturers, investors, businesses and jobs to the state. Undermining this market signal with indefinite delays will jeopardize this progress.

Second, a recent court decision based on a lawsuit filed by several organizations has effectively halted the cap and trade rule development. As a result of this lawsuit, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is unable to do any work related to the rulemaking. If the delay persists, we are increasingly concerned that the state will fail to meet its deadline for the rule to go into effect in 2012. Further, we believe efforts to derail California’s cap and trade rule will jeopardize the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) as California’s participation is crucial to the success of the WCI. A strong regional carbon market anchored by California is important to the business sector and it will increase the size of the market for California’s clean technology industry.

For businesses, uncertainty in the marketplace hurts investment, innovation and growth. Forcing businesses to remain in virtual regulatory limbo will only exacerbate the problem. In order to give businesses the confidence that California will lead the nation with the creation of a robust, economy-wide cap and trade system, it is vital the state resolves this issue as soon as possible. We look forward to working with you and your Administration on the implementation of AB 32 and strengthening California’s clean economy.

‘Healthy San Francisco’ stands, as U.S. Supreme Court denies legal challenge. Rejection ends four-year legal battle over popular universal health care program that serves more than 53,000 San Franciscans

SAN FRANCISCO (June 28, 2010) — The U.S. Supreme Court this morning denied review to a legal challenge to a key provision of “Healthy San Francisco,” conclusively ending a contentious four-year attack aimed at gutting the City’s popular universal health care program. At issue in the lawsuit brought by Golden Gate Restaurant Association in 2006 was whether the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, preempts local laws such as San Francisco’s from requiring ongoing employer spending for employee health benefits, or alternative payments to a local government. In rejecting GGRA’s petition for review on this, the last day of the Supreme Court’s 2009-10 term, the high court effectively sustained a Sept. 30, 2008 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding the legality of the City’s employer spending requirement for health care.

It’s all going to be on a case-by-case basis, so if you’re totally freaked out and you just don’t want to drive your car no mo, then maybe your dealership can send somebody to come around your place to pick up your car, fix it and return it as good as new. Or you can get a loaner if your repairs go into extra innings.

Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that his office has reached an agreement with Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. to provide California Toyota owners with at-home pickup and vehicle return and cost-free alternative transportation while their recalled vehicles are being repaired.

“This agreement goes a long way towards easing the burden caused by Toyota’s massive recall,” Brown said. “It will now be much easier for Toyota owners to get to work and take their kids to school while critical safety repairs are made on their cars.”

Under the terms of today’s agreement, Toyota will provide owners of recalled vehicles the following services:

- Pick-up and return of vehicles by the dealership;
– Transportation to the dealership and/or to the owner’s place of work;
– Alternative transportation, such as a rental car, loaner vehicle or taxi reimbursement for a reasonable period that the customer is unable or unwilling to use his or her car; and
– Expedited scheduling for repair services.

These services will be provided by Toyota through the dealers at no cost to either the owners or the dealer.

The following Toyota vehicle recalls are covered by today’s agreement:
– September 29, 2009 for floormat entrapment;
– January 21, 2010 for sticking accelerator pedals;
– February 8, 2010 for anti-lock brake system issues; and
– February 12, 2010 for drive-shaft failure.

Californians are encouraged to contact their local Toyota and Lexus dealers if they believe they are eligible for these accommodations. Consumers can also contact Toyota’s customer service center at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus at 1-800-255-3987.

This agreement will remain in place until all Toyota vehicles subject to the recall have been repaired. If additional safety recalls arise, an extension of this agreement or other appropriate provisions will be pursued.

The Shen Yun Performing Arts traveling show has been known as the Chinese Spectacular, Holiday Wonders, Divine Performing Arts, and other names since 2006, but some folks around town just call it the Falun Gong Show.

Well, they’re ba-aaaack for 2010, performing in San Francisco, San Jose, and Sacramento from January 2nd through January 10th.